I’m grateful for Tom
I was excited. Right now, I don’t remember why, but Tom made me see what I’d done in a completely different way.
Since then, I have approached every thing I’ve done like that differently.
I’m sure it was a seminar or retreat that I had gone to. Something I had traded a portion of my life to attend. That’s what we do when we go to something like that, isn’t it? Time is the valuable asset we have, isn’t it? Arguably, it’s the most valuable because we can’t get any more of it.
Anyway, I had just gotten back from this event I went to. I was excited to tell anyone about it, and I had picked Tom. I’m sure I was animated in my description. Whatever it was, I’m sure I went on and on about how great it was. Funny, I can’t remember any of it except Tom’s question.
I’m sure Tom listened to my description intently. He was one to really listen when you talked with him. You could tell because of the eye contact, the nodding of his head, the sounds he made. He was a good listener.
When I finished talking, Tom asked me a question that has influenced how I’ve gone to every seminar, retreat, gathering, and event ever since.
He asked me, “What are you going to do differently because you attended that?”
I’ve thought about that question often in the 40+ years that followed. What am I going to do differently? I’ve been to many talks, retreats, masterminds, and the list goes on. I have gone to some that only lasted an hour, some that lasted a day and a few that lasted a week. Each time, I take a bit of time commensurate with the time invested and review my notes. I try to find one or two things I am going to do as a result of having traded some of my life. That’s really the goal, right? To be changed.
Thanks to Tom for asking that question.
Thanks for listening,
Jerry